MADURAI: Family members of Aakash Delishan (26), a Dalit youth who allegedly died following alleged custodial torture on March 6, submitted a petition to the district authorities alleging that the CB-CID was delaying the sharing of the charge sheet with an intention to give leverage to the accused in the case.

“The CB-CID filed the charge sheet before the court nearly 65 days ago, but has not shared a copy with us so far,” the family members told reporters after submitting a petition to Sivaganga District Collector P Akash and Superintendent of Police Abhishek Gupta, seeking their immediate intervention in the matter.

The police took Aakash Delishan of Krishnarajapuram near Manamadurai for questioning on March 8 in connection with a case relating to a clash that took place on the night of March 5. He allegedly died following torture in police custody.

Following the intervention of the court, the case was altered to include murder charges, and Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, was also invoked. The case was subsequently transferred to the CB-CID for investigation.

The family claimed that the charge sheet was filed before the court in Madurai and that the case was transferred to the Sivaganga PCR court on July 19. Aakash’s body was cremated on July 17 following an order of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court.

However, the family alleged that they had not been provided with a copy of the charge sheet despite the police filing it in the Court. “When we approached the Manamadurai PCR court seeking the document, the court officials informed us that case records had been sent back to the CB-CID for e-filing. The CB-CID, on the other hand, claims they can share the copy only after the case is numbered in the court,” the family said.

Advocate Prathiban, who represents the family in the case, said that under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the police were required to provide the charge sheet to the victim’s family and their advocate immediately after filing it before the court.

“It appears that the delay is deliberate and is intended to help the accused in the case obtain bail,” the advocate said.